Town Hall News

(Reuters) – Air raid alerts were issued throughout Ukraine early on Friday and Interfax Ukraine news agency reported explosions in cities in widely separated regions, quoting local sources. Interfax said explosions were reported after midnight in Dnipro, Kremenchuk and Poltava in central Ukraine and in Mykolaiv in the south and another online source reported an explosion in Kyiv region. Interfax quoted regional Telegram accounts as saying unidentified airborne objects were […]

By Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) -The Bank of Japan (BOJ) will discuss on Friday conducting a comprehensive examination of its past monetary easing steps and revise its guidance on the future policy path, the Nikkei newspaper reported. While the central bank is widely expected to keep yield curve control (YCC) steady, any such move could signal new Governor Kazuo Ueda’s intention to gradually move towards an exit from prolonged, ultra-low […]

By Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s new central bank governor Kazuo Ueda will see his communication skills put to test at his debut policy meeting on Friday, as markets look for clues on how soon the country’s prolonged ultra-low interest rates could end. At the meeting Ueda chairs just three weeks into his term, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) is widely expected to maintain its short-term interest rate target of […]

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman in international waters on Thursday, the U.S. Navy said, the latest in a series of seizures or attacks on commercial vessels in sensitive Gulf waters since 2019. Iran’s army said it had seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman after it collided with an Iranian boat, injuring several crewmen, Iranian state […]

(Reuters) – Air raid alerts were issued throughout Ukraine early on Friday and Interfax Ukraine news agency reported explosions in cities in widely separated regions, quoting local sources. Interfax said explosions were reported after midnight in Dnipro, Kremenchuk and Poltava in central Ukraine and in Mykolaiv in the south and another online source reported an explosion in Kyiv region. Interfax quoted regional Telegram accounts as saying unidentified airborne objects were […]

(Reuters) -Carolina selected 2021 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Bryce Young first overall in the NFL Draft on Thursday while Houston took signal caller C.J. Stroud second and traded up nine spots to take outside linebacker Will Anderson Jr with the third pick. Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson went fourth to the Indianapolis Colts, marking just the fourth time since 1967 that three QBs were taken with the first four picks. The Seattle […]

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan will end COVID-19 border control measures specifically targeting visitors from China, effective on Saturday at midnight local time, chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference on Friday. Passengers on direct flights from China to Japan were previously subject to random testing on their arrival, a measure Japan put in place after coronavirus cases surged in China early this year. Matsuno, Japan’s top government spokesperson, […]

By Jamie McGeever (Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever. Amidst a deluge of economic indicators across the continent and a screeching U.S. tech sector rally that’s lifting global stock markets, all eyes in Asia will be fixed on one event Friday: the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting. Much has been written, discussed and speculated about Kazuo Ueda’s debut as new central bank […]

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Commercial vehicle maker Daimler Truck on Thursday launched Rizon, a medium-duty electric truck brand for the U.S., aiming to take on the likes of Isuzu Motors Ltd and Toyota Motor Corp’s truck and bus unit Hino Motors Ltd. Truck makers have long anticipated a shift to electric vehicles (EVs) with lower maintenance costs, but uptake has been slow because of the higher purchase price and a […]